


Teacher (Knowledge, Competence, Virtue)

by writing_as_tracey



Series: Role Models [2]
Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Adults being adults, Gen, High School, Midtown faculty are not stupid, Midtown faculty protect their own, Spider-Man Identity Reveal, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, kind of, no beta we die like men, outsider pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27975300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writing_as_tracey/pseuds/writing_as_tracey
Summary: The follow-up toGuardian (A Defender, Protector, or Keeper): Principal Morita calls a staff meeting of Peter's teachers to inform them of the addition of Tony as his guardian, and unfortunately, when you stick a bunch of intelligent adults in a room together to discuss Peter, Things Are Revealed.Or, how Peter's teachers at Midtown figured out he is Spider-Man.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Flash Thompson, Peter Parker & Midtown Tech, Peter Parker & Ned Leeds, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Role Models [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050815
Comments: 66
Kudos: 997
Collections: best of the acadec team





	Teacher (Knowledge, Competence, Virtue)

Teacher (Knowledge, Competence, Virtue)

* * *

**To** : [All staff]

 **From** : j.morita@midtowntech.com

 **Subject** : Anti-bullying awareness

Hi all,

With the recent suspension of K. Richardson, L. Kim, and T. Hernandez, I would like to spend some time reiterating our school’s anti-bullying policy and the need to be more vigilant toward our students between classes so that we catch these incidents well before they end up as in-school suspensions.

As a reminder, New York state law requires [...]

* * *

**To** : r.harrington; m.warren; b.hapgood; a.cobbwell; j.dell4; g.dipaolo; o.winterhalter; j.rodriguez

 **From** : j.morita@midtowntech.com 

**Subject** : Peter Parker

Afternoon folks:

As you are all Peter’s teachers this term, I am asking that you make yourselves available this Friday after classes to discuss a situation that has recently come to my attention. 

Jim

* * *

**To** : m.warren; b.hapgood; a.cobbwell; j.dell4; g.dipaolo; o.winterhalter; j.rodriguez; j.morita

 **From** : r.harrington@midtowntech.com 

**Subject** : RE: Peter Parker

Can we move the meeting to Wednesday? I teach Peter first period Friday and there’s a decathlon practice scheduled after school that day. If there is something I need to know about Peter, I'd rather it be before then.

\- R

* * *

James “Jim” Morita did his best to hide his nerves as he watched the sophomore teachers trickle into the staff meeting room in the administration block of the school, one by one; some, like Monica Warren, the physics teacher, brought a near-full mug of coffee -- indicating that she was going to be knee-deep in marking before she decided to go home - while others, like Giordano DiPaolo (math) and Olivia Winterhalter (English), came in empty-handed but dressed in their jackets and ready to leave immediately following the meeting.

Slowly, the teachers took seats around the long rectangular table, all slowly coming to look at Morita expectantly as they settled. But it was Julius Dell - history - who began: “What’s this about Parker, Jim?”

“The email must have been due to something with him,” added Monica Warren shrewdly, glancing at Morita from the corner of her eyes. “Although I was surprised it wasn’t about Flash…”

Morita cleared his throat. “Peter was involved in a bullying incident, although he was the one who helped a freshman being bullied.”

“Is Peter alright?” asked Roger Harrington, concern etched on his face. Out of all the teachers, he spent the most time with Peter, teaching him general science as well as being the teacher sponsor for the decathlon team. 

“Peter is fine _now_ ,” began Morita, “Although after the altercation, he went…” 

Morita faltered, unsure. He couldn’t say ‘home’ as he went to the Avengers Compound, but… “Well, anyway. He had a black eye, it was noticed, and a meeting was set up Monday morning.”

Andrew Cobbwell - chemistry - heavily frowned. “Mrs. Parker managed to make time?”

At the frown sent his way by a few people, he hastily clarified, “Look, we all know that Peter’s uncle passed away earlier this year. In fact, we’re almost coming up to the anniversary, so we should probably keep an eye out for that--”

Morita hastily scribbled a reminder down in his notes, as well as a reminder to let Stark know, although there was a good chance he already did. 

“--But, well, things haven’t been easy for the Parker family since, has it? I’ve heard enough between Peter and Ned Leeds that she’s taken extra shifts,” Cobbwell looked around the table. “So I was surprised she was able to take the time to come in.”

Morita sighed. “Yes, well, that's what this meeting is about. She wasn’t alone.”

Olivia Winterhalter stared hard at Morita. “Did you call us into a meeting about Peter because his aunt is dating someone? Are you concerned about him and their relationship?”

“No, they’re not dating,” began Morita, feeling his cheeks heat. Tony Stark and May Parker? Awkward mental image. “But they were made a secondary guardian.”

Even Barry Hapgood, the woodwork teacher who barely paid attention to his students and was more an emeritus of the school and therefore a scant few years away from retirement, raised his eyebrows. “Jim, usually this wouldn’t warrant a staff meeting.”

He had to bite the bullet. “Peter’s secondary guardian is Tony Stark.”

Monica’s nearly-full mug of coffee sloshed over the rim and left a huge puddle on the table, even as Julius blurted out, “What?”

“Parker wasn’t making up the internship?” asked DiPaolo, incredulously. 

Morita shrugged. “I can’t say anything about the internship, directly, but Dr. Stark _was_ in my office; _is_ listed as Peter’s secondary guardian and emergency contact; and _definitely_ knows him and Mrs. Parker well enough that he has her phone number and she, his.”

“Well, I’ll be damned!” breathed Julius in surprise, leaning back in his seat. He blinked a bit more, the awe slowly slipping from his face.

“What does that mean for us?” asked Jane Rodriguez - Spanish-, who focused on the point of the meeting.

“Dr. Stark is listed as Peter’s contact in case we can’t reach his aunt,” began Morita, gladly taking the lifeline she offered. “He is listed under an alias in the files, but as Peter’s primary teachers this term - and I know some of you have him as well next term - you need to be aware of the change in case something happens and we can’t get ahold of her.”

There were nods around the table. For the past year, there had been incidents where Peter had needed to leave class, pale and shaky, sequestering himself with the school nurse as terrible migraines had left him crippled and unable to attend class.

“I also want to add that whatever truth there is regarding Peter’s internship, Dr. Stark is on friendly terms with the family. And given that it was _Stark_ who wanted the meeting called, he’s very aware of what goes on at Midtown and what happens in Peter’s life,” continued Morita, letting the teachers draw their own conclusions from that.

“Stark asked for the meeting? Not Mrs. Parker?” gapped DiPaolo.

Morita nodded.

“Huh,” the man continued, settling back in his chair.

Roger’s face had a heavy look to it. “We’re going to have to be on top of Peter and Flash, then.”

“How so?” asked Olivia, a curious tilt to her head, who only had Peter this term and not Flash in her class.

“Flash is constantly saying things like the internship is a joke,” explained Roger. “And that Peter doesn’t know Dr. Stark.”

“A good point, that also piggybacks onto being reminded about our anti-bullying policy.” Morita nodded at Roger and then glanced around the time. “We should keep a closer eye on those two, anyway.”

“Do you think this means Peter actually knows Spider-Man?” asked Cobbwell curiously, leaning forward to look a few seats down at Roger, completely ignoring Morita.

“Well, I guess so,” answered Roger, surprised, with a tiny shrug.

 _Oh, wow, I guess he does,_ thought Morita, but there was a sinking suspicion in his stomach that he didn’t like. And, judging by the sour expression on Olivia’s face, he was beginning to think his suspicion wasn’t as much of a guess as it was the truth. The lightbulb went off above his head, the same time hers did, and Morita did his best not to groan out loud.

“Actually, he must,” continued Roger, obliviously, “Given that Spider-Man saved the AcaDec team in D.C. when the elevator broke at the Washington monument.”

The next lightbulb went off at the same time for Cobbwell and Monica, who gapped at Roger. Monica then went as far as taking several loud gulps of her coffee to keep from speaking.

DiPaolo hesitantly asked, “Didn’t Peter and Liz Toomes attend Homecoming together?”

“They did,” confirmed Jane, who added with a heavy tone of someone realizing something, “And Liz’s father ended up being that Vulture man that Spider-Man fought at Coney Island over the Stark plane.”

 _Oh, shit,_ thought Morita, the colour draining from his face. Suddenly Peter’s disappearing act, Flash’s damaged car, and the Coney island wreckage flashed through his mind. 

Monica and Olivia shared horrified looks. Cobbwell buried his face in his hands, pushing his glasses into his nose as he moaned quietly. 

Julius Dell sputtered, “Good God, what about the Staten Island ferry incident?!”

Roger, confusedly, echoed, “Staten Island…?”

Barry Hapgood caught on, although he shook his head. “Surely not. _Parker_?”

“What about Peter?” asked Roger, glancing around the table. He gave a nervous laugh, eyes flickering from one faculty member to another. “You’re not all insinuating that he’s Spider-Man…! That’s… that’s…” Roger paused. “Completely in character, actually. Well.”

“Do… do we have a legal obligation to inform the authorities?” whispered Cobbwell, eyes wide now that he looked up from his hands.

Morita felt his breath catch. What exactly were they supposed to say to the NYPD? That their fifteen-year-old student was moonlighting as a masked vigilante? How would that affect the Sokovia Accords as he was a minor? Was there anything in them that addressed that? What did that mean for May Parker? Would Peter be taken into custody? Sent upstate to Xavier’s?

“We can’t tell anyone,” breathed out a terrified Monica, her eyes wide. Her hands trembled and she forcefully placed her half-full coffee mug on the table before she lost more of the liquid. “They’d take him away. Maybe even hurt him. Weren’t there rumours of that awful prison ship leaked on the internet…?”

“He’s hurting himself,” argued Julius, swallowing thickly. “The ferry incident was…”

Morita shivered. The shaky camera shots of Spider-Man holding the two pieces of the ferry together were burned on his brain now. Same with the aftermath of Coney Island. The schoolbuses in the parking lot the night of Homecoming took a much more sinister connotation than a few stupid seniors playing pranks.

“Mrs. Parker must know,” argued Hapgood desperately, wheezing a little as he tried to convince himself. “Surely she must.”

“Stark probably does, given Spider-Man’s suit,” offered Roger. “And Peter has a new phone - it’s a Stark model, I think. But one I’ve never seen before.”

A little lightheaded, Morita found himself saying, “I think I need to speak to Dr. Stark about this. I’ll… I’ll get back to you on that. But…” 

He cleared his throat and sat a bit straighter in his seat. He levelled a hard stare at each of the teachers, hoping that he conveyed the seriousness of what he was about to say despite feeling like he was about to melt into a puddle.

“This _cannot_ leave the room,” Morita said, sternly. “This is more than Peter being Spider-Man. This is about Peter himself. We cannot treat him any differently now that we know. I’ll speak to Dr. Stark about what he knows and what that means for Peter and what that also means for Midtown.”

Suddenly the thought of the school being attacked if Peter’s identity was made public flashed through his mind, and Morita knew the others realized that too by the looks on their faces. 

“Just… just try to be…” Morita struggled for a moment. “Chill, as the kids say. For everyone’s sake.”

There were murmurs of agreement around the table, and a few furious nods before people began to slowly disperse. Roger Harrington looked the most shellshocked, with Julius Dell and Monica Warren behind. 

After they left, Morita returned to his office and stood still for a long, long moment. Then, he opened the top drawer to his filing cabinet, just under his grandfather’s image, and withdrew the shiny flask from it. He took a long draw, knocking back and savouring the sharp burn of the liquor as it hit his throat. His grandfather’s eyes stared at him.

“Oh, please,” muttered Morita, “I somehow doubt that fellow superhero vigilante Captain America never drove you to drink either, with those stunts he pulled. I am _very_ entitled.”

* * *

**To** : t.stark@stark.com 

**From** : j.morita@midtowntech.com 

**Subject** : P. Parker

Dear Dr. Stark,

As per the conversation we had when you visited, I addressed Peter’s teachers and updated them on your inclusion in his file and life. However, during that time, we theorized a connection between him and a certain local hero. If you have a few moments, could you please give me a call so that we could discuss this further, as well as what it means for MSST?

* * *

Peter didn’t notice anything different on Thursday morning when he arrived at school. He had an open study period, which was rare and something he cherished given how he was sometimes late; and although Mr. DiPaolo kept giving him weird looks during math, they had a test right away and after signing in, no one spoke.

It was at third period when Mrs. Winterhalter stuttered over his name during attendance, and then, later, when they were discussing their AP English novel study on Dickens’ _Tale of Two Cities_ , particularly the character study between Darnay and Carton, she kept glancing over at him, like he was supposed to contribute.

No one bothered him at lunch, and then it was woodshop, in which Mr. Hapgood actually _left his desk_ and moved between the tables, offering comments and suggestions. When he stopped by Peter and Ned’s, he paused, as if weighing what he was going to say, but then gave a weak laugh and clapped Peter on the shoulder, saying, “Probably not what you’re used to at Stark Industries, eh, Parker?”

“Er… no, sir?” replied Peter, eyes wide. He shared a glance with Ned, who shrugged.

“Well… carry on.”

At fifth period, things were weirder: they were covering the Sokovia Accords in further detail in APUS-H, exploring the build up to them and planning group projects based on ‘what if’ scenarios, when Mr. Dell paused and asked, “Peter, what are _your_ thoughts on the Accords?”

The class went quiet and some turned in their seats to look at him.

“Me, Mr. Dell?” gapped Peter, looking around. Why was he singled out?

“Surely you have thoughts on them,” began Mr. Dell, nodding encouragingly. “You’re close with Stark, right? And you know Spider-Man? So, you must have heard their thoughts on the matter.”

Half the class leaned forward eagerly while Flash scoffed loudly, but with Ned vibrating in his seat next to him, Peter hesitantly began, “I - uh - sure…” and eased into his thoughts and some of what he heard Tony mutter under his breath.

Mr. Dell nodded thoughtfully and thanked him for his contribution and then went back to teaching, but Peter sat in his seat, utterly confused.

“What just happened?” he whispered to Ned.

“Man, I don’t know, but it’s like, the coolest thing _ever_ ,” Ned replied, his voice rising at the end in excitement.

* * *

Friday was even more bizarre, and it left Peter knocked off his equilibrium, despite Fridays being his heavy ‘science’ days.

First period was general science with Mr. Harrington, who left the chemistry and physics to Mr. Cobbwell and Mrs. Warren, but taught biology and branched out in the upper two classes to teach engineering and robotics. 

When Peter walked in to class with Ned at his side and MJ behind, Mr. Harrington froze, causing Peter to freeze in response. The two stared at each other for a few moments, with Peter blocking the entrance to the classroom much to Betty’s dismay, and then Mr. Harrington sputtered, “Well, to your seats, please.”

“Dude, what was that about?” muttered Ned as they slipped into their seats, Ned in front of Peter. 

Peter frowned. “I dunno.”

The bell rang once, the last few stragglers slipped through the open door, and Abe, one of the last, shut it behind him just as the second bell rang. Then eyes turned expectantly to Mr. Harrington, who eloquently began class from behind his desk with a, “Uhh…”

His eyes kept dancing over at Peter as he stood and began with his lesson on cloning, losing track of his thoughts and the textbook chapter he had assigned as pre-reading.

Slowly, others in the class realized that he kept looking at Peter, causing their own eyes to dart over at him as well.

Peter, his senses warning him of _something_ , kept shivering as goosebumps rose on his arms and the hair at the back of his neck rose in response. He began to slouch and then slip down his seat until he was hidden behind Ned and from Mr. Harrington.

Finally, the man himself sighed and in a very tired voice said, “You know what? I - I just can’t, today. Take notes on chapter four and answer the questions at the end of chapter in pairs and submit that before class ends. I--” he looked around the room, sighing again. 

“ _Dude!_ ” whispered Ned, twisting to face Peter, even as he dragged his textbook with him. “What’s up with Mr. Harrington today?”

Peter didn’t know, and it didn’t get better; after that in second-period chemistry, Mr. Cobbwell stopped by Peter’s station during lab, his nose scrunched up a bit as Peter slammed his drawer with an overflowing beaker of web fluid shut. He was pretty sure Mr. Cobbwell saw - he had been coming up from behind - and worse, there were bits of glossy strands of web hanging from the drawer’s edge.

Peter gave the man his best innocent look from behind the thick science goggles he wore, and the man stared at Peter for a long, long minute before shaking his head and moving to Cindy and Seymour’s table, muttering under his breath. Of course, Peter could hear him and was bewildered at “I won’t even ask, it’s plausible deniability, right?” meant in regard to him.

Ned wheeled over in his stool to Peter, concern etched on his face. “Did Mr. Cobbwell see you?”

“I - I don’t know.”

In third, Señora Rodriguez had them conjugating and then working on translating a script from Spanish to English to Spanish, leaving Peter no time to think about Mr. Harrington and Mr. Cobbwell’s strange interactions -- or, even, Mr. DiPaolo’s, Mr. Hapgood’s, and Mrs. Winterhalter’s the previous day. Spanish was one of his worst classes, so Peter kept his head down. It was one of the few he didn’t share with Ned, leaving him to focus on work instead of geeking out.

Then it was lunch, and then fourth-period physics with Mrs. Warren. Her class was like every other class, which was great and Peter’s senses were finally dulled to his normal awareness. Mrs. Warren began with a quick-fire oral quiz of the previous lesson’s material and then moved on to their lesson for that day. She didn’t stutter over Peter’s name in attendance; she didn’t stare at him; she didn’t move about the room and check his progress during group activities - it was almost normal enough that Peter relaxed.

Except that as they were finishing their group work, running sims on their laptops, Flash at the next table over, leaned across the aisle and muttered, “Hey, Penis, do you run equations and simulations like this with Tony Stark?”

Peter ignored him because that’s what he always did - but this time, Mrs. Warren swooped down from where she was at the other side of the room ( _how did she hear that?_ thought Peter. _Does she have superpowers, too?_ ) and sharply bit, “Watch it, Flash. We don’t use that language here and we certainly don’t joke about other students’ prestigious internships.”

Flash gapped, just as Peter did - and their group members. The bullying and name-calling were shut down when they heard it or saw it, but… it was the first time that any teacher had come down hard on Flash, or any other student, regarding Peter’s Stark internship. 

Mrs. Warren turned to Peter, gave him a small smile, and then turned to Cindy and Betty’s group to check their simulations. 

Flash, however, turned to Peter, eyes wide. He mouthed an incredulous, “What the fuck?” at him.

Peter shrugged back, equally shocked.

Many students in Mrs. Warren’s class had Physical Education after as their final class of the day, particularly those in AcaDec, so the large group meandered from the chemistry classroom to the gym as one large mass, with Peter and Flash, and Cindy, Betty, Abe, and Charles. 

“What is _up_ with the teachers and you, Peter?” asked Charles, glancing at Peter walking beside him. His glasses caught the light as they passed through the windowed corridors to the gymnasium.

Peter shrugged, struggling to say something. “I honestly don’t know.”

“It’s so weird,” added Cindy, fingers combing through her hair. “Mr. Harrington was the _worst_ though, this morning.”

“Maybe Parker did something and he’s getting in trouble for it!” crowed Flash, grinning meanly over his shoulder as he began walking backward. “And they’re going to tell you after school!”

“They wouldn’t wait until the end of the _day_ , Flash.” Abe rolled his eyes. 

“I’m just saying--”

“That you’re going to trip over yourself and die of embarrassment? Okay, you do you.” MJ appeared at the edge of the group, with Ned and Seymour. Flash sputtered and glared at her, but turned to face forward and kept silent.

Coach Wilson treated Peter no differently during P.E., and then when the final bell rang, the AcaDec group moved to Mr. Harrington’s classroom for practice, where the man still froze upon seeing Peter.

He groaned, pushing past the awkwardness, and went straight to his usual seat, throwing his bag down and preparing for MJ - who he could count on to not ask questions or be weird. She began their practice immediately, whether Flash had sat or not; as the first alternate, he pulled out a magazine and kicked his feet up onto the seat beside him and began reading until he was called in.

Abe and Charles were first up as one team, with Sally and Cindy as the other; Ned and Peter opted to watch before switching in - and because Peter sometimes left during practice for his internship, much to MJ’s ire and Mr. Harrington's frustration.

Forty minutes into practice, Peter’s head jerked up from his folded arms, turned to face the windows.

Ned, beside him, turned in surprise. “Peter--”

“I gotta go,” declared Peter loudly, standing abruptly and shovelling his things into his backpack. “I got a thing - a Stark internship thing--”

“Yeah, okay, Parker,” drawled Flash, rolling his eyes as he put down his magazine. “Through your creepy love for Tony Stark, you’ve realized he needs you _right this minute_ for your internship--”

“What? Peter, no!” cried Abe, “You’re up next for me!”

“Peter, you can’t leave,” added Cindy, frowning. “You haven’t practiced yet and you’re one of our strongest members!”

“I’m really sorry,” stammered Peter, shoulders falling as he looked around the room. “But, I--”

MJ, from where she sat in front of the two groups of desks mimicking the AcaDec competition layout, waved Peter away. “Just leave, loser.”

“Yeah, _leave_ , Parker,” echoed Flash. “Yet again, who is the reliable, truthful one left here for Midtown’s AcaDec team? _Me_ , that’s--”

“It’s fine, Peter,” broke in Mr. Harrington suddenly, looking at Peter like he had never seen him before. The entire team turned to stare at Mr. Harrington in surprise. “I know your internship is important, and you’re doing really great work with it. We won’t keep you any longer.”

“I - thanks, Mr. Harrington,” said Peter, dazed. 

He zipped his bag up and turned to leave when his teacher called out after him, “And be _safe_ , Peter!”

Peter stumbled a tiny step, confusion, and fear racing up his spine as he wondered what Mr. Harrington meant by that. But the single siren was joined with another, and Peter quickly left, pushing his teacher’s strange behaviour and words from his mind.

* * *

“How was your day, Underoos?” asked Tony when Peter entered the work lab later that evening, not even looking up from his work. “Patrol all good? I liked that update on the puppy thief.”

“Patrol was fine, but school was… weird.”

This time, Tony _did_ look up. “That’s a new one. Weird how?”

Peter threw his backpack at a couch tucked in the corner of the lab and sat on a stool, spinning around nervously. “Like, my teachers were weird around me. Mr. Harrington was the worst - he actually freaked me out enough that my spider-sense had me reacting to him.”

Tony froze. He gave Peter a thin, awkward smile. “That - uh. Might be my fault.”

Peter stopped spinning on the stool to look at him. “Your fault?”

“I made an appointment with your principal to address the bullying issue from last week,” admitted Tony, trying not to feel like he was in the wrong. He did it for Peter! And it all worked out, didn’t it?

“What?” Peter’s mouth dropped open. “But - my teachers --”

“So. Funny story,” began Tony, “Aunt Hottie has me listed as your secondary contact at school now. Surprise!”

Peter groaned. “Principal Morita must have told the other teachers--”

“Oh, he did,” confirmed Tony, nodding. “He emailed me to let me know.” Then, to Peter’s embarrassment, Tony added, “I’m now also on the Midtown School of Science and Technology listserv, so I get the monthly newsletter. I also get updates from your teachers about your grades and homework assignments.”

“ _Mr. Stark!_ ” whined Peter, his cheeks red. 

Tony laughed, a bit evilly. “So wanna explain that B+ in Spanish, buddy? Did you finish your physics homework before Spider-Manning? It’s due on Monday. Chop-chop, Pete, let’s get started on it. The sooner you finish, the sooner we can work on the suit.”

Peter groaned some more but went to his backpack to begin his schoolwork. Tony stood silent and watched him for a few moments as Peter withdrew what he needed and settled at his workstation, beginning to read and take notes in his notebook. 

Once he was satisfied he was actually doing his homework, he turned away. He wouldn’t bother Peter with the fact that his teachers figured out he was Spider-Man, or that he had another meeting with Principal Morita about Midtown’s safety and the security upgrades the school was about to get, along with a hefty private donation. 

Tony was just doing his job as Peter’s secondary guardian; just like Morita and the faculty at Midtown were doing theirs with their newfound knowledge of Peter and Spider-Man. And, at the end of the day, their jobs aligned: keeping Peter safe. 

Tony could get behind that.

* * *

FIN


End file.
